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The Stetson sand volleyball team opened its 2013 season with a pair of 4-1 victories over Georgia State and Jacksonville Saturday at the Beach 'N Boards Fest in Cocoa Beach, Fla.

Four of the five games went the full three sets against Georgia State.

After the top seed of Julie Bassett and Kaley Melville fell 2-1, the Hatters' second through four seeds all won 2-1, and the fifth seed of Jordann Dierickx and Katie DiGirolamo won 2-0.

Stetson had a little easier time with Jacksonville, winning four of its five sets 2-0. Savannah Byl and Maren Rygh won as the no. 1 seed 22-20, 21-15.

"It was really good to see the team figure things out quickly today," assistant coach Meghan Bryant said. "We all started out a little shaky, but it was nice to see that they stepped up and found a way to win despite the wind, deep sand, and slanted courts."

The Hatters (2-0) will look to continue their strong start against Louisiana-Monroe and UNF on Sunday.

"There were some good teams out there today, but I think tomorrow could be a little more difficult," Bryant said. "UNF and ULM both have really good teams. They're going to probably show us something that we didn't see today, so it will just be our team figuring out a different way to win than today, but I have the confidence that if they could do it today, then they can do it again tomorrow."